Thursday, 16 January 2014

A Crafty Smorgasbord

There are so many inspiring people out there who make and create; I love reading crafting and vintage magazines and I wanted to share some of my favourites with you.

There is nothing like curling up on the sofa under a crocheted granny blanket with a mug of gin and a pile of magazines and books to flick through. I like to collect up a stack of various reading materials that will give me a veritable crafty smorgasbord to get my creative juices flowing (ooh err missus!). All the magazines in this post make crafting look cool and sexy and not something that is the sole preserve of crusty old grannies.

Mollie Makes

I have been subscribing to Mollie Makes on and off for the last couple of years and although I have really enjoyed it, I am taking a break for a few months. MM is packed full of craft projects, ideas and interviews with creative types who will motivate you to get busy and start making stuff. Projects are varied and achievable and it's not all knitting and crochet! They often have good subscription offers with some stonking free gifts. I tend to subscribe for a while, then take a break and sign up again for another free gift offer. Crafty

I discovered Crafty a few months ago with a 3 issues for £5 trial subscription which was too good to resist. Very similar to Mollie Makes, but I actually like it more as I think it is more varied in the craft projects it offers. Mollie Makes is readily available in most larger Newsagents and Supermarkets for £4.99 if you fancy trying it out. You can also subscribe to receive both magazines in a digital format and there is a great trial offer here for Crafty - 3 issues for £1! Make sure you read the small print as ever though.

Gathered

Gathered is a weekly contemporary crafting magazine from Mollie Makes which is purely a digital magazine for iPad or iPhone. You can download the app and sign up for a a free 1 month subscription to see if you like it; I'm going to give it a go this month and will let you know what I think.

91 Magazine

I have just discovered this FREE quarterly digital magazine and I love it! The blurb says:

'91 Magazine aims to inspire its readers with great ideas and tips for styling your home through beautiful photography, well written features and craft projects to get that handmade DIY look but in a modern way.'

You can get the latest 'special craft' issue of 91 Magazine here; you can also read all the back issues for FREE too. Awesome.

There are always the so-called 'free gifts' with Mollie Makes and Crafty, which I collect up in a big heap but don't ever use! Loads of little projects that would be great for my girls to tackle or useful things like buttons and ribbon. I also have to figure out how to store all the magazines I have, as naturally, I like to keep them for inspiration. Somehow, digital publications just don't give the same reading experience as a hard copy of your favourite magazine; even though I am a grown up, I still like that thud on the carpet when the postie delivers my latest issue.

Which magazines do you subscribe to? Come back tomorrow for a charity shop update! Galx

Please be sure to read the small print and be savvy when signing up for free trials and special offers for magazine subscriptions; you don't want to find yourself committed to an annual subscription if you can't afford it. This is not a sponsored post, I just wanted to share some magazines I love. Subscription offers were true at the time of posting but of course I cannot guarantee how long these offers will be available.